Sometimes it feels as if the world of horology becomes over-saturated with novelties, new technologies, and new trends. To the point where we forget the joy of a simple watch. Simple as in functionally simple or visually simple or even simply made. Good materials put together nicely but without frills or fuss. Watches we can afford to buy and feel comfortable wearing day in and day out. Not those we feel we can’t scratch or are afraid of getting stolen. Typically these watches range $350-$1,000 depending on which features they have, where they are made, and with what materials/components. And it also seems as if we’ve slightly lost track of what drove us to micro/independent brands in the first place—a mix of interesting designs, good specifications, and decent manufacturing and finishing, so that we could access various genres of watches at lower prices than what mainstream brands offer. A bit more originality but nothing outlandish. Indeed, just simple and good watches. 

I remember liking Alcadus watches a lot when I first got hands-on experience with them. First through the Quantra then the Opus V2. Two overall good watches which didn’t break the barriers of design nor of engineering, but which could be acquired for not too much money. They were well-made, thoughtfully designed, but never went too much in any directions which were their main strengths. Watches in the best meaning of the word which too many brands seem to have gotten tired of making for fear of not getting recognized in the ocean of micro/independent brands. (Most brands now want to be the cool one.) But since Alcadus continues to make these good watches then there are still people out there yearning for this type of simple and honest horology, which sounds weird I know. Anyway, today we’re going to yet again take an Alcadus for a spin, the Voyager Worldtimer GMT, another good watch full of great specs and interesting design cues but which constitutes, more importantly, great value. 

Specifications 

In order to speak intelligently about the Alcadus Voyager Worldtimer GMT I had to educate myself about the differences between GMT and worldtimer watches, as both have different purposes and function differently. In a GMT watch a fourth hand indicates the time in a second time zone and sometimes, with the addition of a bidirectional rotating bezel with a GMT scale, it is possible to track time in three time zones simultaneously. In a worldtimer watch the time is indicated in 24 time zones at once by way of a disc or ring on which are printed the names of the 24 cities which represent the 24 time zones as officially (and allegedly) established by Sir Sanford Fleming during the 1884 International Meridian Conference. (See this excellent article to learn more about it.) Typically worldtimer watches are equipped with complex calibers where the local hour hand is connected to the disc/bezel so that adjusting the local time also adjusts the worldtimer ring to be able to keep accurate track of time in all time zones simultaneously. 

The Alcadus borrows from that philosophy but does things more simply and cheaply by combining a GMT hand and a 24-hour bi-directional bezel on which are printed the aforementioned 24 cities. In other words, one can easily track a second time zone using the GMT hand which points to the GMT scale printed on the rehaut, and manually adjust the bezel to see the time in all 24 time zones. In other words, one has to first adjust the GMT hand to his/her time zone then move the bezel to align the city of said time zone to the GMT hand, which then makes it possible to see the time anywhere in the world. (See this video to learn how  to do it.) This is a clever system which adds great functionality to a classic GMT. The latter by the way is powered by the now ubiquitous flyer-style GMT Miyota 9075 caliber (4Hz/42 hours of power reserve) which is regulated in-house to run at ± 7 seconds per day. The bezel is bi-directional and made of polished ceramic on the outside and brushed stainless steel on the inside. 

Being made for travel and I believe for any type of adventure you could think of, the Alcadus Voyager Worldtimer GMT is also equipped with generous applications of BGW9 SuperLuminova on the hands, applied markers, and outer bezel markings. (The inner markings are paint filled in order to be easier to see during the day.) Plus a screw-down crown and bezel endow this model with 200 meters of water resistance, the crystal is a boxed piece of sapphire with five layers of inner anti-reflective coating, and the case measures 39mm in diameter, 45.5mm lug-to-lug, 12.5mm thick (including the crystal) and comes with a 20mm lug width. The Alcadus ships on a three-link flat-link bracelet with large screws holding the links together, quick-release spring-bars, a ratcheting diver’s extension mechanism built-in the clasp which is less sexy than the tool-less micro-adjustment mechanisms we now see on pretty much any micro/indy brand but much easier to use. This good watch retails for $897 USD full retail but currently for $769 USD. 

Design

Upon seeing a first photo of the Alcadus Voyager Worldtimer GMT I was first seduced by its straightforward yet complex design. The bi-segmented bezel plus the GMT hand plus the monochromatic dial felt instantly attractive to me, as many tool watches do. But it didn’t strike me as being fancy as many Swiss worldtimers appear to be, nor did it come across as being gimmicky as many overloaded utilitarian watches can be. No, at once I found the local and GMT time to be easy to read and I appreciated the visual complexity added by the bezel. Now that I’ve had it in-hand for a little while I can confirm how attractive the instrumental appearance of this model is and how much joy I’ve had wearing it and secretly tracking time around the world. I didn’t understand how worldtimers worked before seeing this model, and I honestly didn’t see the point in them, but now I do get it because the Alcadus is endowed with a type of design that is much more my thing than what I’ve seen on many higher-end worldtimers. 

The local time is therefore indicated by a sword-style hour hand that went on a diet (it is narrower than usual) and a long pencil-style minute hand which fully reaches the rehaut on which the minute markers and GMT scale are printed. The seconds hand is thin and painted orange at its tip, and all three are beautifully brushed in a toolish manner. The GMT hand is also thin and brushed to a remarkable extent (I didn’t know such narrow hands could be brushed in this way,) and of course complemented by an orange arrow. The way in which Alcadus went about designing all four hands and allowing each to play with one another is tastefully done and balanced, and extremely legible which is what I was immediately drawn to. The hands further pop from the dial with great ease as the latter is black and lacquered and comes with rich and deep tones and a glossy finish. It feels as if we don’t see many lacquered dials anymore as brands have moved on to other trends which is sad as these dials look classically elegant. 

Therefore the applied hour markers also stand out for that same reason and Alcadus flexed its design arm a little extra for those. We find fully polished faceted triangles at the three and nine facing inward, doubled and shaped like a shield at the twelve, and circular elements everywhere else. All markers are applied and polished by the way which is why they stand out so well from the lacquered dial. I do very much like the combination of the glossy dial with the 1960s MIL-SPEC hands + markers layout although elevated to something a little extra on account of their fully polished treatment. The rest of the ideal is neat too: the combined minute track and GMT scale printed on the narrow, angled rehaut where the even hours are printed in black numerals and the odd ones in orange dashes and align with the bezel markings. On the latter Alcadus printed half of the cities on the black ceramic section and the other half on the brushed steel one, and little arrows on both indicating daylight savings time. 

I would be remiss not to spend some time gloating over the case which is the second reason why I so badly wanted to check out the Voyager Worldtimer GMT (the first one being the dial.) Not only because its dimensions sounded (and are) perfect for my 6.50”/16.5cm wrist but also because I always appreciated the way Alcadus gets its cases machined and finished. On this model we find a few angles which are emphasized by polished chamfers, on the lugs for example, and well-defined case flanks which are straight and framed by an undercut below the bezel and the recessed case-back below. Moreover, the aforementioned lugs are thin and sharply turn towards the wrist which aid in making the superb 45.5mm lug-to-lug distance, and the bezel comes with a formidable Clous de Paris knurling (which some brands call hobnail pattern) which not only looks great but makes spinning the bezel in both directions extremely easy. The icing on the cake is the 6.2mm conical-shaped crown which is fully polished and lumed at its center. 

Because why not? 

The Heart of the Matter

I built my reviews from the beginning through the end, unlike what I’m supposed to do by starting in the middle and coming up with a clever introduction and eye-opening conclusion. Though I spend time with each watch before writing about it, I can’t always seem to be able to form my opinions about it in an organized fashion from the get-go. In other words, the point of each review becomes clear as I’m writing it, in a way we are both discovering what the heck I’m trying to say together at the same time. So I started this review by saying that Alcadus makes good watches. They do. But now I better understand what makes the brand so darn compelling to me: they utilize an effective but pretty standard design language which is perfectly executed and paired with ergonomically sized and well-finished cases, complemented by great specifications and neatly wrapped together by a fair price tag. Alcadus strikes the perfect balance in all horological categories which is what best defines what a microbrand is. 

At least what they used to be before many of them thought it would be smart to jump in on the latest trend in order to stay relevant—so as they hoped—and to come out on top of the mob. But what many fail to understand is that consistency is the key to long-lasting success—consistency in design, specifications and price—and that inconsistency will bring them to their own demise—inconsistency in design, specifications, and price. As they cannot run and stop all the time as they will exhaust themselves and us—watch enthusiasts and clients—and wonder a few years later what went wrong. From what I can tell, Alcadus thus far has been consistent and this explains why it came up with the Voyager Worldtimer GMT. It is a sensical watch for a brand that makes sensical and calculated moves. 

Conclusion 

A lot of good and inventive horology can happen in the $350-$1,000 USD price range, that is excluding AliExpress brands which generally offer inexpensive copycats (with a few exceptions of course as I did review a Baltany.) But more often than not, this price range is where the good micro/independent horology takes place where we can get good designs, good specs, and therefore good watches. Cross the $1,000 USD barrier by a few hundred bucks and you find yourself with Swiss made watches whose higher price becomes more difficult to justify. So coming in at $897 USD full retail and currently $769 USD on sale, the Alcadus Voyager Worldtimer GMT is an incredible watch that has a lot to offer and whose value extends far beyond its price tag, as I hope I was able to show today. 

Thanks for reading.